LONDON (Reuters) – Kazakhstan-born pianist Alim Beisembayev began his musical career when he picked a miniature toy piano for his fifth birthday present. Now aged 23, he has scooped the career-making Leeds International Piano Competition, beating four other finalists. “I’m still coming down from cloud nine … it really is a wonderful feeling,” Beisembayev told Reuters on Monday. Beisembayev, who has most recently been studying for a master’s degree at the Royal College of Music in London, is the first pianist from Kazakhstan to win The Leeds. Beisembayev also scooped the audience prize, which is voted for by the public, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for performance of a 20th/21st century work.

Source: MetroXpress September 20, 2021 18:22 UTC